OF Charles Davalan, 1st round (41st) – Los Angeles Dodgers - Signed $2 million

Hometown: St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Que.

Born: Waterloo, Ont.

Height/Weight: 5’ 9” 177 lbs.

Bats/Throws: L-R

Slot Value: $2,386,900

Scout: Tim Adkins.

School: University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

Coach: Dave Van Horn.

Previous Teams: Florida Gulf Coast University, TNXL Academy, ABC, Partiots de Demortagne.

Previous Coaches: Dave Tollett, Brian Martinez, Marc-Antoine Bérubé and Michael Belanger.

Rankings: 62nd on Baseball America’s final top 500 … 54th on MLB Pipeline’s top 250 … 28th on The Athletic’s top 100 ... 62nd on Baseball America’s top 500 … 65th on Baseball America’s top 400 list ... 196th on Baseball America’s top 300 ... No. 201 on Perfect Game’s Scouting Service ... Ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 458 overall prospect and the No. 76 outfielder in the class of 2023 … Rated No. 6 overall prospect and No. 2 outfielder from Canada by Perfect Game.

Big dates: Invited to MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix at Chase Field.

Good genes: “My parents, Paula Davalan and Lucien Davalan, both ran track. They ran long distances like the 800 metre and 2 km.”

The most influential people in my baseball life: “Brian Martinez and Greg Plecki, my coaches at TNXL. They taught me everything about competitive baseball and how to grow as a player and person.”

2025 spring with Arkansas Razorbacks: Hit .346 with 12 doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 60 RBIs ... Scored 71 runs in 65 games with a .994 OPS was 10-for-13 stealing bases ... In Omaha at the College World Series he singled in the opening game 4-1 loss to LSU, had two knocks, stole a base and knocked in a run in a 3-0 win over Murray State, singled in a 7-4 win against UCLA and was hitless when eliminated by LSU (so he was 4-for-17 (.235)) ... Managed two hits and drove in three runs in a sweep over against Tennessee in the best-of-three Fayetteville Super Regional as the Hawks knocked off Tennesee 3-2 and 11-1 ... Had three hits, including a triple and a double, knocking in a run in a 6-2 win over North Dakota State, followed by 12-1 and 8-3 victories over Creighton in the Fayetteville Regional ... Doubled in the SEC tournament in a 5-2 loss to Ole Miss in the SEC tourney ... Had six hits, with three RBIs as well as a pair of doubles in a three-game series against Tennessee … Managed four hits with two RBIs in three-game set against LSU … Had two hits including a home run and four RBIs in a sweep over Texas to occupy the No. 1 ranking ... Two hits while dropping two of three to Florida ... A pair of hits in two-games against Little Rock ... Six hits with two doubles dropping two out of three to Texas A&M ... Singled in a triumph against Arkansas Pine-Bluff ... Four hits with a double and drove in a run as the Razorbacks were swept by Georgia ... Was 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs in a victory over Arkansas State ... Five hits with three homer and 10 RBIs in a three-game sweep of Missouri, scoring five times ... Two hits, including a triple in a Grambling win ... Had four hits with two homers and five RBIs in a three-game sweep against Vanderbilt ... Three hits in a loss to Missouri State with a double ... Seven hits with a double, two homers and two RBIs in a three-game sweep of South Carolina Gamecocks ... Six hits with a solo homer in a two-game sweep of Oral Roberts ... Six hits with three doubles and a solo homer in a two-game set facing Oral Roberts ... Eight hits with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs in three-game set against Ole Miss ... Six hits with a solo homer and seven runs scored in three-game sweep of Portland ... Two hits with a homer and five RBIs and seven runs scored in a two-game series against ULM ... Three hits with a homer and two RBIs in a three-game sweep over Charlotte ... Two-run single in a win against Grambling ... Two hits with a double and two RBIs in win over Michigan ... Five hits with a double and five RBIs in four-game set facing Washington State.

Honours: 2025 season with Arkansas _ Earned Second-team All-American honours by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association … Earned Perfect Game Second Team All-American honours … Voted to All-SEC First Team … One of two Canadians named as a finalist for the Dick Howser award as the college player of the year …2023 spring with ABC _ Perfect Game Preseason All-American – Canada/Puerto Rico All-Region First Team.

Red-hot Hawg: Including three series against Ole Miss, Oral Roberts and South Carolina, Davalan slashed .553/.585/.895 with four homers. His whiff rate over the course of those games is under 6% and his average exit velocity is north of 88 mph.

2024 summer with Cotuit Kettleers on Cape Cod: Batted .242 with five doubles. one homer and 11 RBIs in 21 games ... Had a .722 OPS going 3-for-3 stealing bases.

Best day on the ball field: “Every day on the ball field is the best day at the field.”

Favourite team: “Toronto Blue Jays.”

Favourite player growing up: “Ryan Goins.”

Favourite player now: “(Speedy Arizona Diamondbacks OF) Corbin Carroll.”

2024 spring at Florida Gulf Coast: Batted .288 with 16 doubles, two triples, 10 homers and 37 RBIs ... Started all 56 games, was 13-for-18 stealing bases, scoring a team-leading 66 runs ... Splitting time between the infield (33 games) and outfield (29) … Had a .927 OPS … Totaled 64 hits, drew 28 walks and was hit by 20 pitches … Defensively, posted a .960 fielding percentage with seven errors in 176 total chances … Assisted in turning 13 double plays … Made his collegiate debut in a start at TCU recording his first career hit on a double and scoring a pair of runs … Hit his first career triple and drove in a pair of runs, the first two RBIs of his career, at TCU … Recorded a season-high three hits, including his first career home run, and stole a season-high two bases against Xavier … Had a pair of hits, including a solo home run, at Florida State … Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double against Bellarmine … Scored a season-high four runs against Austin Peay … Drew a season-high three walks at UCF … Tallied a season high in hits with three doubles at Lipscomb, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored … Drove in a season-high four runs against Florida Atlantic, while belting a three-run homer in the process.

Scouting reports

Major league Scout on Davalan’s diving attempt at the College World Series, which led to a loss against LSU: “I remember one day Wrigley Field, the Montreal Expos had either the tying run on third or second … big hitter up. Jeff Huson was running at first — his run meant nothing. He was picked off — game over. The poor kid was in tears in the clubhouse. The great Michael Farber wrote something like ‘It was refreshing to see someone care enough about his team, the Expos, to shed tears,’ That’s the way I feel about Davalan … he cared, he cried. I don’t think he made an error all year.”

Baseball America

Charles Davalan, OF, Arkansas

Davalan showed positive flashes as a freshman last year at Florida Gulf Coast, where he hit .288/.413/.514 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Upon entering the transfer portal, he received heavy interest from numerous prominent programs before eventually committing to Arkansas. Davalan has thrived in Fayetteville and is currently in the midst of a career season in which he’s hitting .377/.461/.640 with eight doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and 24 walks to just 13 strikeouts.

Listed at just 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Davalan has impressive strength packed into his compact frame. He’s added physicality since last spring but also has made some noticeable changes to his setup. Last season, Davalan stood tall in the box with a high handset and a slightly-open front side. That led into a move in which he would become more crouched and into his lower-half before a noticeable leg lift. Now, Davalan’s setup is a bit of a unique look aesthetically, but he’s cut out a lot of the unnecessary movement. He’s lowered his hands, has an almost wide-open front side and is more into his lower half pre-swing. Davalan still deploys the aforementioned crouch move, but it’s less pronounced. Speaking of less pronounced, he’s also cut down significantly on his leg lift.

In addition to his mechanical changes, Davalan has improved his bat speed since arriving at Arkansas and is making harder—and more quality—contact on a consistent basis. Since last season, his average exit velocity has jumped from 86.7 to 88.8 mph, his 90th percentile exit has also increased and he’s posted multiple exit velocities north of 110 mph. Davalan is an advanced, well-rounded hitter who has a knack for finding the barrel to go along with comfortably-plus bat-to-ball skills. So far, he’s posted an overall contact rate of 91% and an overall in-zone contact rate of 93%. Davalan’s approach and swing decisions are also polished, and his overall chase rate is just 20%. Very few of his swings have come outside of the “shadow zone” on Synergy. He’s shown the ability to use the entire field and drive the baseball from gap to gap, but his highest quality of contact has come to the pull side.

Davalan is an outstanding competitor who plays the game at one speed: hard. He’s a plus hitter with average power who runs well once underway. When you combine his performance, tools and makeup, the result is a pretty profile. Defensively, he fits best either in left field or back on the dirt at second base, which is where he logged 33 games at Florida Gulf Coast. There are still four regular season series left, and Arkansas is well-positioned for a College World Series run. Davalan could use as a platform to further boost his stock, but right now, he fits in the second-to-fourth round range.

MLB Pipeline

OF Charles Davalan

Arkansas

AGE: 21

B/T: L-R

HT/WT: 5’ 9” 190 lbs.

Davalan moved from Montreal to Florida for his high school senior season in 2023, attracting some scouting attention but not enough to divert him from attending Florida Gulf Coast. After transferring to Arkansas this spring, he has become one of the most productive hitters in the Southeastern Conference as a sophomore. He’s giving off some Drew Gilbert vibes, though he won’t quite go in the first round like Gilbert did in 2022 after starring at Tennessee.

A leadoff hitter with a sweet left-handed stroke, Davalan has a quality approach and rarely chases or swings-and-misses. He focuses on hitting the ball from gap to gap and has surprising strength for someone who stands at just 5-foot-9. He’s driving the ball better after dropping a leg kick in favor of a toe tap, showing power to both his pull side and the opposite field, and he should produce 15-20 homers per season.

Davalan has solid-to-plus speed, plays with a lot of energy and can steal an occasional base. He divided his time at Florida Gulf Coast between second base and right field, played center in the Cape Cod League and has spent most of this spring in left. His quickness gives him range to go with fringy-to-average arm strength, and he’ll be able to enhance his value as a pro if he can play up the middle at second or in center.

Bob ElliottMay 3, 2025